From award-winning artist Aimee Erickson,
Plein Air Techniques for Artistspresents the step-by-step process for plein air for landscape, still life, and the figure, along with exercises to strengthen skills.
Take your plein air artwork to the next level through easy-to-understand workshop-style lessons and skill-building exercises. In
Plein Air Techniques for Artists, award-winning artist and respected workshop instructor Aimee Erickson demystifies how to capture a variety of light effects and guides you in strengthening your plein air skills through practice. This accessible book covers:
- Materials and gear. Gain a basic knowledge of the possibilities so you can keep your options open and your plein air process fresh.
- Composition and value. Explore the impact of proportion, color, value, line, edges, shape, and texture.
- Color. Consider how knowledge and intention, your color palette, and what you see—your perspective—take turns being in charge of the color game, inventing rules and finding solutions.
- Light effects. Learn how conditions of the day—how much light there is, and whether it’s soft, diffuse, golden, harsh, pale, or dusky—affect everything we see and how we paint.
- Design and the visual idea. Discover strategies for developing a visual idea, from creating serial studies to working with a camera to improvisation.
Featuring exceptional still lifes, figures, and landscapes by other noted artists working in a range of mediums,
Plein Air Techniques for Artists gives artists at all levels of experience the guidance they need to grow as a plein air artist.
The For Artists series expertly guides and instructs artists at all skill levels who want to develop their classical drawing and painting skills and create realistic and representational art.
Arvustused
"Award-winning oil painter Ericksons devotion to sharing her love of plein air painting techniques is clear from the first pages of this book. This resource is a great addition to crafts collections. Suitable for both experienced artists and novices interested in this artistic practice." * Library Journal * "Aimee Erickson demystifies how to capture a variety of light effectsfrom sunlight and shadow to nighttimeand every glisten and glimmer in between. Her friendly tone and accessible workshop-syyle lessons and skill-building exercises offer artists down-to-earth guidance on painting more effectively in natural light. Exceptional still lifes, figures and landscapes by noted contemporary plein air artists provide endless inspiration." * Artists Magazine *
| Introduction |
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6 | (2) |
| Finding "The Zone" |
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8 | (3) |
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11 | (12) |
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12 | (2) |
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14 | (3) |
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Supports: Canvas, Panels, and Paper |
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17 | (2) |
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19 | (4) |
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23 | (18) |
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Making Interesting Compositions |
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24 | (8) |
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32 | (1) |
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Sketchbook Exercise: Notan |
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33 | (2) |
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35 | (4) |
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Exercise: Simplified Value Studies |
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39 | (2) |
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41 | (16) |
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42 | (3) |
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45 | (1) |
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Exercise: A Color Chart, Emphasizing Value |
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46 | (1) |
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47 | (3) |
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50 | (4) |
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Color Development of Value Studies |
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54 | (3) |
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57 | (20) |
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Seeing Skills: Shift Your Perception |
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58 | (1) |
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59 | (1) |
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Demonstration: Light and Shadow on Architecture |
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60 | (3) |
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63 | (3) |
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Exercise: The Color of Light |
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66 | (2) |
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68 | (1) |
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Technique: Stain It, Draw It, Paint It |
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69 | (2) |
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71 | (2) |
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73 | (4) |
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77 | (22) |
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Dappled and Filtered Light |
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78 | (1) |
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Technique: Starting with a Mid-Tone Canvas |
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79 | (1) |
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Demonstration: Large Scale Work |
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80 | (2) |
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Demonstration: Dappled Afternoon Light |
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82 | (2) |
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84 | (3) |
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Demonstration: A Two-Session Painting |
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87 | (3) |
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90 | (2) |
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Painting Makeover: Light and Shadow Relationships |
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92 | (2) |
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Technique: Using a Broad Brush |
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94 | (1) |
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Shade and Reflected Light |
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95 | (4) |
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99 | (14) |
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100 | (2) |
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Contre-Jour: Against the Light |
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102 | (2) |
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104 | (3) |
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107 | (3) |
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Painting Makeover: Perspective |
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110 | (3) |
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113 | (12) |
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Front Light: A Dramatic Fully Lit Effect |
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114 | (4) |
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Technique: Direct Impasto Brushworh |
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118 | (2) |
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Painting Makeover: More Color |
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120 | (5) |
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125 | (8) |
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126 | (2) |
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128 | (1) |
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129 | (4) |
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133 | (18) |
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134 | (2) |
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Demonstration: Multiple Light Sources |
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136 | (1) |
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137 | (2) |
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139 | (5) |
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144 | (2) |
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146 | (5) |
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10 Design and the Visual Idea |
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151 | (11) |
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152 | (1) |
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Technique: Paint Manipulation |
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153 | (3) |
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156 | (1) |
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Strategy: Serial Studies of a Subject |
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157 | (3) |
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160 | (1) |
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161 | (1) |
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162 | (6) |
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Plein Air Quick Reference |
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164 | (1) |
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Field Painting Strategies |
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164 | (1) |
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What to Do If You Don't Have an Idea |
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165 | (1) |
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Summary of Perspective Principles |
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166 | (1) |
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If Your Composition Isn't Working |
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167 | (1) |
| Contributing Artists |
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168 | (2) |
| Acknowledgments |
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170 | (1) |
| About the Author |
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171 | (1) |
| Index |
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172 | |
Known for an engaging style and versatility in subject matter, Aimee Erickson is an internationally renowned oil painter and instructor who has given lectures and demonstrations at venues nationwide. A standout at plein air painting competitions, she has won both Best of Show and Artists Choice at Plein Air Easton, as well as Best of Show at Carmel, Sonoma, Olmsted, Laguna, and Pacific Northwest art festivals. Erickson has been a Portrait Society of America finalist, won Best of Show at an American Women Artists national show, and is a signature member with multiple awards from Oil Painters of America. She has exhibited with international plein-air groups in China and Russia, is an inaugural member of Charlie Hunters En Train Air expedition, and in 1997 painted the official portrait of governor of Oregon Barbara Roberts. Ericksons professional affiliations include Plein Air Painters of America, Oil Painters of America, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, American Impressionist Society, and the California Art Club, and her work has been featured in Southwest Art Magazine, American Art Collector, and Plein Air Magazine, and on OutdoorPainter.com. Erickson has a BFA in Visual Communication Design with an Illustration emphasis from Brigham Young University. She lives in Portland, Oregon, and carries a sketchbook. To see more of Ericksons work, visit aimeeerickson.com, @1aim on Instagram, and Aimee Erickson Artist on Facebook.
